Spin the Bottle
Name:________________________
Discuss the following statement: Excessive drinking is part of the teen
experience. Is this a message you have encountered? Where? Is it an accurate
statement? Define excessive drinking.
How often do your peers drink? Do you notice any differences in the ways your
male and female friends make decisions around drinking? What influences the
decisions you make around drinking alcohol?
What are gender stereotypes? How do you think gender stereotypes affect our
expectations of and experiences with alcohol?
List and write one-sentence descriptions of all the alcohol ads you can recall
seeing/hearing in the past month. How many ads do you remember as group?
Do you notice any gender stereotyping in these ads?
List and write short descriptions of as many movies or television shows each
person in the group has seen in the past month that feature young people (high
school or college age) drinking. In these movies/television shows, was alcohol
consumed moderately or heavily? What were the consequences?
List all the places in Marshall where a person can go to drink or buy alcohol.
Are there more or fewer places than you thought there would be?
What are some negative consequences associated with high-risk drinking?
Before you watch Spin the Bottle, watch at least one current movie or two hours
of television programming that features high school or college age
people/characters. Does anyone refer to alcohol in the movie/TV shows? How
often? Do the characters drink alcohol? How much? Are there any negative
consequences?
Commercial 1
Bud Light Beer: Two men ‘observe’ a women’s yoga class.
What stories does this commercial tell about men?
What stories does this commercial tell about women?
The women in this commercial are exercising, yet this activity is reinterpreted
as a ‘show’ for men. What is going on in this commercial and in our culture that
makes this reinterpretation seem okay, harmless, and even funny?
Do women want to be watched all of the time? Why does our culture act as if
they do?
What does unwanted attention, i.e. stalking, feel like?
The men in this commercial look harmless, their faces are boyish, but we know
many times women feel uncomfortable and even afraid when men stare at
them. How do the stories told in this commercial contribute to this situation?
Consider the camera angles of this commercial. What does the camera focus on,
i.e. does it focus on a particular body part? Where the camera looks is where
the viewer looks—what are some possible consequences of this situation?
Commercial 2
Bud Light Beer: “Get a good look at the mother because that’s what the daughter
will look like in 20 years.”
What stories does this commercial tell about women?
Obviously the most important thing about a woman in this commercial is her
appearance. Why is it okay for this commercial to suggest that? Is this a
situation you see happening in real life?
Sarah is eating nachos and her mother has an enormous rear-end and thighs—
what does this commercial say about the way women should eat?
In this commercial the audience is meant to laugh at the size of the mother’s
rear-end and thighs—what does this say about body size? What is going on in
our culture that makes it okay to laugh at someone’s body size?
What stories does this commercial tell about men’s attitudes towards
relationships with women?
Commercial 3
Coors Light Beer: features the song, Here’s to the wingman.
LYRICS:
This chick’s rockin’ your bro on the dance floor
But she’s towing an anchor
A junior investment banker
Who’s talking about herself and not much more
So buy her a beer, it’s the reason you’re here
Mighty wingman
You’re taking one for the team
So your buddy can live the dream
Mighty wingman
What is the “chick” in this commercial doing? How does she look? How is she
dressed? How does the camera look at this woman? Where the camera looks is
where the viewer looks—what are some possible consequences of this situation?
How does her dance partner look at her? Where does he look?
What is the “anchor” doing? How does she look? How is she dressed? How does
the camera look at her? Where the camera looks is where the viewer looks—
what are some possible consequences of this situation? How does the
“wingman” look at her? Where does he look?
Are the physical appearances of the two women very different? What is the
biggest difference between the two women? What messages does this send
about how women should behave?
What stories does this commercial tell about successful, powerful women?
What stories does it tell about men?
What is the most important thing about women in this commercial?
What stories does this commercial tell about men and women’s relationships?
Why is being the wingman framed as such a “noble” role?
Commercial 1
Miller Genuine Draft: male writer rewrites scene.
What are the women in this commercial doing?
What is the male writer’s relationship to power in this commercial? What are
the women’s relationships to power? What gender stereotypes do you see
present in this commercial?
Which gender calls the shots in this commercial? Does this situation mimic
real-life power structures?
Commercial 2
Miller Lite Beer (part of a series): fantasy ‘cat fight’ over whether Miller Lite is
great because it “Tastes great” or is “Less filling.”
What gender stereotypes are present in this commercial?
Which gender calls the shots in this commercial?
How might the way this commercial is set up absolve the alcohol industry of
any responsibility for its content?
.
Commercial 3
Miller Lite Beer (part of a series): continues from Commercial 2 with one of the
men replacing one of the fighting women.
What gender stereotypes are present in this commercial?
Which gender calls the shots in this commercial?
How does this “fantasy fight” differ from what you know about real-life physical
“fights” between men and women?
How might the way this commercial is set up absolve the alcohol industry of
any responsibility for its content?
Commercial 4
Michelob Beer: “cleaning lady day.”
What gender stereotypes are present in this commercial?
Which gender calls the shots in this commercial?
The cleaning lady in this commercial doesn’t seem to mind that the apartment
she is cleaning is such a disaster, and that after all of her hard work, her
employer throws more stuff on the floor. What stories does this commercial tell
about women’s work and the value of women’s work?
Commercial 5
Miller Lite Beer: beautiful older woman cannot resist younger man.
What gender stereotypes are present in this commercial?
Which gender calls the shots in this commercial?
In this commercial, the son isn’t thrilled that his friend is telling a joke and
having a sexual fantasy about his mother, but he doesn’t do much to defend
her; he simply says, “Oh come on, can’t we go one night without a joke about
my mother,” smiles, and shakes his head. What stories does this tell about
men’s relationships with women? What stories does it tell about respect?
Commercial 6
Smirnoff Ice: party in a Laundromat.
What gender stereotypes are present in this commercial?
TARGETING WOMEN
In most alcohol commercials that target men, the men in the commercials are
quite ordinary looking, while the women are very beautiful. In most of the
commercials that target women, the physical appearance of the men seems to
change—generally, they get stereotypically better looking—but the physical
appearance of the women stays the same—they’re still stereotypically beautiful.
What is going on here?
Commercial 1
Miller Lite Beer: revenge on a cheating boyfriend.
What stories does this commercial tell about women?
What stories does it tell about men?
What stories does it tell about relationships between men and women?
Which gender calls the shots in this commercial?
What stories does this commercial tell about physical abuse? Would this
commercial work if the gender roles were reversed? Discuss.
How might this commercial work to ensure that, even if it’s targeting women, it
is not upsetting to male viewers? Might it also appeal to male viewers on some
level?
Commercial 2
Bud Light Beer: male model for a birthday present.
What stories does this commercial tell about women and about what women
want?
What stories does it tell about men?
What stories does it tell about relationships between men and women?
How might this commercial work to ensure that, even if it’s targeting women, it
is not upsetting to male viewers? How might it also appeal to male viewers on
some level?
Commercial 3
Miller Lite (part of a series, see also commercials 2 and 3 in SEX & MALE
FANTASY): women’s fantasy commercial.
Two model-like men fight over whether Miller Lite is great because it “Tastes
great” or is “Less filling.”
What stories does this commercial tell about women and about what women
want?
What stories does it tell about men and male bonding?
Which gender calls the shots in this commercial?
How might this commercial work to ensure that, even if it’s targeting women, it
is not upsetting to male viewers? How might it also appeal to male viewers on
some level?
How might the way this commercial is set up absolve the alcohol industry of
any responsibility for its content?
Commercial 4
Miller Lite Beer: woman recounts photocopier incident.
What is the role of alcohol in this commercial?
What is the man in this commercial like? What stories does this commercial tell
about men?
How might this commercial work to ensure that, even if it’s targeting women, it
is not upsetting to male viewers? How might it also appeal to male viewers on
some level?
MALE ANXIETY
Commercial 1
Budweiser Beer: woman wears her ex-boyfriends big shirt and rejects her current
boyfriend’s small one.
What type of male anxiety does this commercial play on?
How is this type of anxiety linked to our cultural definitions of masculinity?
What stereotypes and/or assumptions does this commercial rely on?
Commercial 2
Coors Beer: guy makes a fool of himself dancing at a concert.
What type of male anxiety does this commercial play on?
How is this type of anxiety linked to our cultural definitions of masculinity?
What stories does this commercial tell about men’s friendships with other men
and male bonding?
Why would Coors play on this type of male anxiety in an effort to sell beer?
Commercial 3
Rolling Rock Beer: guy dances with attractive woman; his friends watch him.
What type of male anxiety does this commercial play on?
How is this type of anxiety linked to our cultural definitions of masculinity?
What stories does this commercial tell about men’s friendships with other men
and male bonding?
What stereotypes and/or assumptions does this commercial rely on?
A DIFFERENT APPROACH
The following commercials illustrate that it is not necessary to rely on
stereotypes to advertise alcohol:
Commercial 1
Australian Black Swan Shiraz Wine
In what ways does this commercial differ from the others you’ve watched in the
Collected Commercials DVD Extra?
The product being advertised here is wine, why might it work for wine
advertisers to use a “different” approach in their marketing efforts? Who decides
when it is, and when it is not, acceptable (and profitable) to use a different
approach?
Commercial 2
Californian Gallo of Sonoma Wine
In what ways does this commercial differ from the others you’ve watched in the
Collected Commercials DVD Extra?
The product being advertised here is wine, why might it work for wine
advertisers to use a “different” approach in their marketing efforts? Who decides
when it is, and when it is not, acceptable (and profitable) to use a different
approach?
Commercial 3
Michelob Light Beer: men play soccer to win beer.
How does male bonding look in this beer commercial? How does it look in the
other commercials you’ve watched in the Collected Commercials DVD Extra? Do
you notice any differences?
Would a similar commercial work on the air today? Why or why not?
This commercial was made in the early 80s.Why do today’s alcohol ads look so
different from this one? What has changed?
Commercial 4
Natural Light Beer: men in bar have friendly conversation about Natural Light
Beer.
How do men’s interactions with other men look in this beer commercial? How
does it look in the other commercials you’ve watched in the Collected
Commercials DVD Extra? Do you notice any differences?
Would a similar commercial work on the air today? Why or why not?
This commercial was made in the early 80s.Why do today’s alcohol ads look so
different from this one? What has changed?